I happen to follow a vintage audio group on Facebook. I’ll admit, I like most old stereo equipment and have a bit of a soft spot for vinyl.
It’s not some sort of audiophile fascination with vinyl. It’s more the process. Like a tea ceremony. It’s not so much the drinking of the tea, it’s the steps taken to prepare it.
The same with vinyl. You take out an album, admire the cover art, carefully remove the record and place it on the turntable. There are steps that must be followed, and you have to take great care not to scratch the album. All steps must be taken in the proper order.
Sure, it’s quicker and easier to click a mouse. But it’s just not the same.
But today I happened to see a picture of an 8 track player that someone had carefully restored. It looked great. And from a historic point of view it was something to be proud of. But the 8 track format is one I was never sorry to see go.
The tapes would wear out and start to jam. The players would have issues. And the worst thing about 8 tracks was the fact that no matter what song on the album was your favourite, that was the one that would be split in half and be forced to span two of the four tracks on the tape.
That was the big one. The dreaded splitting of your favourite song. And it seemed bound to happen. These days we complain about social media companies reading our thoughts and putting ads up about things we were just talking about. Years ago, record companies would somehow determine your favourite song and plot to cut it in half on the 8 track.
I am lucky enough to have seen a number of audio formats come and go. Most all of them have their good points. But some should just stay gone.
